Important Advising Information

Students will receive initial advising from the graduate coordinator and/or the principal research advisor upon admission to the program. Students are responsible for forming a permanent guidance committee and developing a program of study approved by that committee before registering for their second semester. After the first semester, if no program of study is on file, the guidance committee is not obligated to include any unapproved courses taken as part of the student’s final program. The guidance committee for Thesis students will include at least three faculty members from the Biology Department. The student usually selects the committee’s chair, and the chair chooses the other two members in consultation with the student. Additional committee members may be added from inside or outside the department by agreement between the chair and the student.

The guidance committee for Non-thesis students will consist of the principal graduate advisor for the selected concentration and the graduate coordinator. The graduate advisor will prepare the student’s program in consultation with the student, which the graduate coordinator must approve. The student may select a third member of the guidance committee from faculty within the Biology Department.